Familiar Master (5e Class)

Familiar Master

Two Beings, One Purpose

A sahuagin scout exits the water, approaching the nearby coastal town, looking for easy victims. A short figure trails him from behind a patch of dune grass. The sahuagin's attention is drawn to a spectral octopus that crawls along the beach toward him. He turns his head. Suddenly, the octopus flies backward at impossible speed, transforming into a long tentacle-whip, gripped by the figure he had not noticed. Before the scout can react, he is lashed with the whip and hopelessly ensnared. He struggles, but cannot escape the whip, and is jerked this way and that. At last, the lashes prove too much, and the sahuagin falls dead. The whip transforms back into an octopus, and the figure kneels down and holds out its finger to its familiar, showing affection for its victory.

Many wizards and warlocks are known for using familiars, spiritual beings brought about by magic rituals that take the form of an ordinary animal. Familiar masters use these familiars as well, but a much more powerful form of one. Their familiars have advanced intelligence, can transform into spiritual weapons, and even change their master's body into the likeness of their own, among other effects.

Creating a Familiar Master

When creating a familiar master, ask yourself, when did you acquire your special familiar? Was it gifted to you as a lesser Pact of the Chain or similar methods? Did you or a caster with whom you associate pursue a more powerful form of familiar? What is your relationship with your familiar? Are the two of you like a pair of close friends, or do you see your familiar as but a servant and treat it as such? Why did you choose the animal you did for your familiar? Most importantly, what is its animal form?

Quick Build

You can make a familiar master quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Intelligence. Second, choose the folk hero background. Third, choose two shortswords, a shortbow (with arrows), and a dungeoneer's pack. Finally, choose the cat as your familiar's animal form, and dueling as your Fighting Style.

Class Features

As a Familiar Master you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Familiar Master level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Familiar Master level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: Choose any 1
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose any 2 from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) Two shortswords or (b) Any martial melee weapon
• (a) A light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) A shortbow and 20 arrows
• Studded leather
• (a) A dungeoneer's pack or (b) An explorer's pack
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 2d8 x 5 in funds.

Table: The Familiar Master

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Master's Familiar, Fighting Style
2nd	+2	Familiar's Weapon
3rd	+2	Familiar Path
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Extra Attack
6th	+3	Familiar Path feature
7th	+3	Sensory Strengths
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Familiar Form
10th	+4	Familiar Path feature
11th	+4	Spirit Animal
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Improved Familiar's Weapon
14th	+5	Extra Attack, Familiar Path feature
15th	+5	Familiar Form improvement
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Familiar Path feature
18th	+6	Familiar Form improvement
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Ultimate Familiar

Master's Familiar

You have been gifted with a special kind of familiar. Starting at level 1, you have a familiar that follows the statistics of the Find Familiar spell. However, there are a few differences. The familiar's form can never be changed once you have chosen one. Additionally, it can speak any languages you know, and will refer to you as "master." Its hit points will equal 10, regardless of its animal form, which increases to 20 at level 4, 30 at level 10, and 40 at level 16. Its AC will always equal your own AC + 1. If it dies, rather than permanently disappearing, you can resurrect your familiar with all its memories and all its hit points during a long rest. You also cannot dismiss your familiar permanently, only temporarily.

Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Starting at level 1, you may choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Familiar's Weapon

Starting at level 2, your familiar gains the ability to transform into a weapon to aid you. As your familiar's action, you can command it to transform into a different weapon that appears in your free hand, depending on its animal form:

Bat's Fang

A glaive (1d10 slashing, heavy, reach, two-handed) shaped like two oversized, bony teeth emerging from a bat's mouth.

Cat's Claw

A battleaxe (1d8 slashing, versitile (1d10)) shaped like two clawed paws.

Crab's Vice

A pair of light hammers (1d4 bludgeoning, light, thrown (range 20/60)) shaped like two pincers. When thrown, you can use a bonus action to return one or both hammers to your hand.

Frog/Toad's Lick

A flail (1d8 bludgeoning) shaped like a long, flexible tongue, emerging from a frog's head. It gains the reach and finesse properties.

Hawk/Eagle's Talon

A longsword (1d8 slashing, versatile (1d10)) shaped like a curved claw, with the handle shaped like a small bird.

Lizard's Maw

A pair of sickles (1d4 slashing, light) shaped like curved fangs.

Octopus's Arm

A whip (1d4 slashing, finesse, reach) shaped like a tentacle. When you make an attack with the whip, you can choose to grapple the target (escape DC is equal to 8 + Strength + Proficiency Bonus). Until the creature escapes, following attacks you make can only be to attack the grappled creature with the whip again. You can use a bonus action to release the creature.

Owl's Beak

A pike (1d10 piercing, heavy, reach, two-handed) shaped like a giant bird beak, emerging from a small owl's head.

Quipper's Knash

A morningstar (1d8 piercing) shaped like a fish's gaping mouth, filled with rows of sharp teeth. It gains the versatile property (1d10).

Rat's Bite

A spear (1d6 piercing, thrown (20/60), versatile (1d8)) shaped like a bucked tooth, emerging from a tiny rat's mouth. When thrown, you can use a bonus action to return the spear to your hand. Additionally, the versatile damage increases to 1d10.

Raven's Peck

A rapier (1d8 piercing, finesse) shaped like a long, pointed beak, emerging from a small, round bird's head. It gains the versatile property (1d10).

Sea Horse's Endurance

A shield (+2 AC) shaped like a giant fin, with a seahorse emblazoned on the front. You can make a melee attack against a creature with the shield. On a hit, you move them 5 feet away from you.

Snake's Venom

A dagger (1d4 piercing, finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)) with two blades mounted next to each other, shaped like two sharp fangs, emerging from a single small snake head. Whenever you make an attack with this dagger, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC is equal to 8 + choice of Dexterity or Strength + Proficiency Bonus) or become Poisoned. The target can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Additionally, when thrown, you can use a bonus action to return the dagger to your hand.

Spider's Web

A net (special, thrown (range 5/15)) shaped like a circular cobweb. If the net is escaped or destroyed, it is returned to your hand. If destroyed and returned to the hand in this way, the net regains half its hit points. You can also recall the net to your hand as a bonus action.

Weasel's Jaw

A war pick (1d8 piercing) shaped like two oversized teeth emerging from a weasel's mouth. It gains the versatile property (1d10).

While transformed into a weapon, your familiar cannot take actions, reactions, or bonus actions, except an action to turn back to its animal form. Your familiar cannot transform into a weapon if it is dismissed or killed. When you turn your Familiar back into its Animal Form, you cannot take Bonus Actions until the start of your next turn. All damages dealt by these weapons are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities. Once you transform your Familiar's Weapon back into its animal form, you must wait 2 rounds before you can transform it back into a weapon and vise versa.

Familiar Path

When you reach 3rd level, you must choose between Elemental Familiar, Wild Familiar, and Arcane Familiar, all detailed below. Your chosen familiar path grants you new features at level 3, 6, 10, 14, and 17.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Starting at level 5, you may take the Attack action twice on your turn. At level 14, you may take it 3 times.

Sensory Strengths

Your stronger bond with your familiar has increased its magical abilities. Starting at level 7, the range of you and your familiar's telepathy increases to 150 feet. Additionally, when you choose to tap into its senses, you can choose only sight or hearing, and you only become blind or deaf, respectively.

Familiar Form

Starting at level 9, as an action, you can transform, along with all your worn or carried equipment, into your familiar's chosen animal form, retaining your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores and your hit points. You control the body, retaining all your memories and personality, and you can still converse with your familiar mentally but you cannot speak out-loud. You cannot enter this form if your familiar is farther than 150 feet away from you, dismissed, or killed. If you are knocked unconscious or killed, after 5 minutes have passed, or if you expend an action to do so, you return to your true form. You regain the ability to make this transformation after you complete a short or long rest.

At level 15, this ability improves. Depending on your familiar's form, your familiar form changes to be a giant bat, a giant cat (lion), a giant crab, a giant frog/toad, a giant eagle/hawk, a giant lizard, a giant octopus, a giant owl, a giant snake, a giant quipper (reef shark), a giant rat, a giant raven (vulture), a giant sea horse, a giant spider, or a giant weasel.

At level 18, this ability further improves. Whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points while in your familiar form, you transform back to your true form at 1 hit point, and your familiar instead drops to 0 hit points. Additionally, the duration of the transformation extends to 10 minutes.

Spirit Animal

Your familiar's abilities can be passed on to you for a limited time. Starting at level 11, you can call on one of these benefits as a reaction:

Cat, Frog/Toad, Rat

Whenever you are targeted by an attack that forces you to make a Dexterity saving throw, you can add double your Dexterity to the roll, additionally, when you succeed on a saving throw that would result in half damage you instead take no damage and may jump 20ft. in a direction of your choice.

Bat, Hawk/Eagle, Owl, Raven

Whenever you begin falling, you can take half the fall damage, as if you were resistant, and avoid being knocked Prone. Additionally, you may activate this ability a number of times per-day equal to your Proficiency Modifier in order to gain a 20ft. fly speed for a number of minutes equal to your Proficiency Modifier.

Octopus, Quipper, Sea Horse

Whenever you make an attack underwater, you can make all attacks for the next minute without disadvantage from being there. Additionally, your fingers and toes become webbed and you gain a 20ft. swim speed and the ability to hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Proficiency Modifier.

Crab, Lizard

Whenever you make a melee attack that uses Strength or make a Strength saving throw, you can make it with advantage. Additionally, you gain a Burrow speed of 20ft.. This Burrow Speed may only be use on sandy or snowy terrain or in extremely loose dirt. This ability does not leave tunnels behind.

Weasel

Whenever you make a melee attack that uses Dexterity or make a Strength saving throw, you can make it with advantage. Additionally, you gain a Burrow speed of 10ft. This ability does leave tunnels behind and may be used to fully clear 1 5ft.-cube/round.

Snake

Whenever you are Poisoned, you can automatically end the condition. Additionally, your canine teeth grow into sharp fangs and you gain a Bite attack that deals 2 piercing damage plus 1d6+your level poison damage and imparts the poisoned condition unless the victim makes a DC: 15-constitution saving throw.

Spider

You have now learned how to cast both Web and Spider-Climb. You may cast these spells a number of times per-day equal to a combined total of your Proficiency Modifier.

You cannot activate your spirit animal feature if you are in familiar form.

Improved Familiar's Weapon

Your bond with your familiar can transcend it to a more powerful weapon. Starting at level 13, whenever you make an attack with your familiar's weapon, you roll double the damage dice during the damage step.

Ultimate Familiar

You and your familiar have become an unstoppable force. Starting at level 20, whenever you make an attack with your familiar's weapon, you can expend one use of your spirit animal feature to make two attacks with the weapon as a reaction. Additionally, whenever you activate your spirit animal feature, you regain 1d10 + 20 hit points (this does not activate when you make extra attacks with familiar's weapon).

Familiar Scpecializations

Below are the 3rd-level specializations to add to your familiars.

Elemental Familiar

Elemental familiars, in addition to a chosen animal, take a chosen element. Both the master and the familiar can use this element to empower their attacks.

Element Attack

Your familiar's elemental powers begin to unlock. Starting at level 3, you must choose an element from fire, ice, lightning, acid, poison, or thunder. You may change your chosen element during a long rest. Your familiar can use its action to cast a cantrip, depending on its element: Fire Bolt (fire), Ray of Frost (ice), Shocking Grasp (lightning), Acid Splash (acid), Poison Spray (poison), or Thunderclap (thunder). Intelligence is your Familiar's spellcasting modifier for this Cantrip, though it uses your Intelligence modifier rather than your its own when calculating the spell's effects and affects. Your familiar cannot cast the cantrip if it is dismissed or killed.

Elemental Weapon

Your familiar's element can be applied to its weapon form. Starting at level 6, whenever you make an attack with your familiar's weapon, you deal 1d6 additional damage of your chosen element. At level 14, this increases to 2d6. At level 15, this damage is applied to attacks you make while in familiar form as well.

Flow of the Elements

You have begun to feel the ebb of elements around you, and you can shroud yourself from them. Starting at level 10, you can cast Absorb Elements a number of times equal to your Proficiency Modifier Per-long rest, requiring no components, as long as your familiar is within your telepathy range, you are not in familiar form, and it is not dismissed or killed. Intelligence is your spellcasting modifier for it, and you use your own Intelligence rather than your familiar's. The type of damage you receive and inflict does not have to be your chosen element.

Elements' Gift

Your elemental manipulations can be used to strengthen yourself. Starting at level 14, if you are targeted by an attack that deals damage of your chosen element, you can expend 1 use of your flow of the elements to inflict no extra damage on your next attack, receive no damage, and instead regain hit points equal to half the damage you would have taken. If the attack that hits you deals multiple types of damage, you only take no damage and heal from your chosen element's damage type.

Elemental Outburst

Your familiar can now inflict much larger damages with the elements. Starting at level 17, your familiar can use its action to cast Cone of Cold once, requiring no components; however, the damage type is changed to that of your chosen element. Intelligence is your spellcasting modifier for it, and you use your own Intelligence instead of your familiar's. Your familiar cannot cast the spell if it is in weapon form, you are in familiar form, or it is dismissed or killed. You regain the ability to activate this feature once you complete a long rest.

Wild Familiar

Wild familiars focus on their animistic abilities. They can land fierce attacks, and empower their masters with beastlike fury.

Beast's Fury

Your familiar begins to develop natural weapons. Starting at level 3, your familiar can use its action to make a melee attack against a creature. On a hit, this attack deals 1d8 + your Strength modifier, rather than your familiar's, piercing (bat, frog/toad, lizard, snake, quipper, rat, spider, weasel), slashing (cat, hawk/eagle, owl, raven), or bludgeoning (crab, octopus, sea horse) damage. These damages are counted as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities. You familiar cannot make these attacks if it is in weapon form, you are in familiar form, or it is dismissed or killed.

Wild Movement

Your familiar's beastlike nature begins to shine on you. Starting at level 6, your base movement speed increases by 10 feet. You must not be wearing heavy armor to receive this benefit.

Animistic Voracity

Your familiar's attacks grow stronger. Starting at level 10, your familiar may make two attacks with beast's fury. At level 17, this increases to three attacks.

Fortitude of the Wild

Your bond with your familiar empowers you in the toughest moments. Starting at level 14, you can activate your spirit animal feature twice as often before needing rest and you may activate and deactivate the ability as a bonus action.

Cry of the Beast

Your familiar can now let loose a mighty call. Starting at level 17, your familiar may use its action to release a powerful roar. Every creature that can hear it in a 60-foot sphere centered on it must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is Frightened. Every creature affected can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. You regain the ability to activate this feature once you complete a long rest.

Arcane Familiar

Arcane familiars use raw magic to empower or attack. They can combine their natural abilities with deadly spell-like features.

Arcane Ray

Your familiar is empowered with a simple magic attack. Starting at level 3, your familiar can use its action to make a ranged spell attack with a range of 120 feet. On a hit, the target of the attack takes 1d10 force damage. If used at melee range (5 feet), the attack deals instead 2d6 force damage. These attacks are treated like spells and use your Intelligence rather than your familiar's Intelligence, as a spellcasting modifier. At level 10, these damages increase to 2d10 and 4d6, and again at level 17, to 3d10 and 5d6.

Healing Touch

Your familiar gains a well of arcane healing. Starting at level 6, as your familiar's action, it can cast Cure Wounds a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Use your own Wisdom score when determining the details of the spell's affects instead of your Familiar's. Your familiar can cast the spell on itself as well as anyone you instruct it to. You regain the ability to activate this feature after you complete a long rest.

Weapon Arcana

Your familiar's weapon form gains stronger innate magic. Starting at level 10, whenever you make an attack with your familiar's weapon, you can choose to extend the range of the attack to 50 feet if it is not thrown, and if it is thrown, you may attack at the longer range without disadvantage. If you hit with the weapon from this range, the target takes an additional 1d12 force damage. Executing this attack automatically transforms your familiar back to its animal form. You regain the ability to activate this feature after you complete a long rest.

Spirit Magic

Your bond with your familiar produces new arcane abilities that you can inherit. Starting at level 14, when you activate your spirit animal feature, you can choose to cast Shield (under the specified conditions of the spell) instead.

Polymorpher

You can unleash the magic of your familiar's animal form on others. Starting at level 17, you can expend 1 transformation into your familiar form and transform 1 creature of your choice into that form instead of yourself. An unwilling creature may make an Intelligence saving throw (DC is equal to 8 + Intelligence + Proficiency Bonus), avoiding the effect on a success. The creature gains all benefits of your familiar form, except the ability to survive on 1 hit point at level 18.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the familiar master class, you must meet these prerequisites: Strength 15

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the familiar master class, you gain the following proficiencies: Light armor, simple weapons, martial weapons

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